It's been over four decades now since one of the most grueling races for cars and motorcycles kicked off. We know it as the Dakar Rally, even if it no longer has anything to do with the largest city of the African nation Senegal, and it has always been a competition that ignited the imagination of car and bike makers, bur also riders and drivers, in equal measure.
The Dakar Rally is not for the weak of heart, and that's why not all brands take part, and only the most daring humans dare venture past the starting line. But it does happen from time to time for newcomers to announce their participation. And the latest one to do so is Romanian carmaker Dacia.
Earlier this year, after the 2024 Dakar concluded, the company announced its intention to take part in the 2025 Dakar Rally, but also in the World-Rally Raid Championship (W2RC). And it will do so with a contraption called Sandrider.
Before getting into the off-roader itself and the reason we're talking about it today it's best to understand what Dacia is all about. Owned by French carmaker Renault, the brand was once the maker of one of the cheapest cars in Europe, the Logan.
The Logan is still around, but no longer cheap as chips, and it spearheads a lineup that also includes a hatchback (Sandero), a station wagon (Jogger), and electric car (Spring), and, naturally, an SUV (Duster).
The Sandriders is none of these things. Its design was inspired by an all-wheel-drive electric concept car called Manifesto, which was presented by the Romanians in 2022. But other than that, it’s an "all-new vehicle designed specifically for rally-raids."
Photo: Dacia
What that means is that the off-roader looks like a proper machine to take on dunes, heat, and unexpected circ*mstances. And it is also light on its wheels and shaped in such a way that it offers up to ten percent less drag and 40 percent more lift than comparable prototypes.
The Sandrider is powered by a 3.0-liter V6 twin-turbo engine, a layout and displacement Dacia has never offered for the masses. The powerplant is capable of generating 355 horsepower and 539 Nm of torque.
The vehicle is, naturally, an all-wheel-drive, and relies on a 6-speed sequential transmission to get the proper amount of power to the ground. The wheels, 17-inch aluminum pieces, are backed by double wishbone suspension with up to 350 mm of travel, and BF Goodrich tires.
The vehicle is meant to take part in the Ultimate T1+ class races, but before it gets to do that it needs to be properly tested in the great outdoors. And that's exactly what Dacia announced this week it did: it completed the initial testing phase of the Sandrider.
Over the course of May the off-roader was in three different locations for various reasons. Over in the UK, at the Millbrook Proving Ground, engineers performed systems checks. Then, at the Sweet Lamb testing complex in Wales, it was test driven by one of the people who will sit behind the wheel during rally raids (more on the crew in a bit). Finally, the Sandrider landed in France, at the Château de Lastours, for rocky terrain driving.
In the busiest of days during the tests the vehicle was driven for distances of up to 168 miles (270 km). As per Dacia, the "initial testing phase had exceeded expectations," even if some issues came to light - we don't know what does are, as Dacia says nothing more about them.
Photo: Dacia
Up next for the Sandrider is the first outing in a setting not unlike the one of the 2025 Dakar Rally: in late June and early July the vehicle and the team that backs it will travel to Morocco.
Speaking of team, Dacia put quite a lot of effort in getting the right people behind the Sandrider. Team principal is Tiphanie Isnard, a name that was involved in rallying for the past two decades or so. She leads a crew of three drivers.
Spanish Cristina Gutierrez Herrero is a Dakar Rally veteran, having taken part in the grueling race eight times between 2017 and 2024. She is the winner of World Cup for Cross-Country Rallies (category T3) and the second woman to win in a category of the Dakar (Challenger, the first woman to do that is Jutta Kleinschmidt). Herrero will drive the Sanrider accompanied by Pablo Moreno Huete.
The second driver is five-time winner of the World Cup for Cross-Country Rallies and two-time winner of the World Rally-Raid Championship Nasser Al-Attiyah.
Last but not least comes Sébastien Loeb, winner of the World Rally Championship for no less than nine times in a row(2004 - 2012). He will be driving alongside Fabian Lurquin.
Before moving to take on Dakar, "the ultimate motorsport challenge," the Dacia Sandrider will make its race debut in Rallye du Maroc, part of the 2024 World Rally-Raid Championship, scheduled to take place in early October.
The 2025 Dakar Rally is scheduled to take place in Saudi Arabia starting January 3.
